Participation in Housing Cases: An examination of attendance and representation at County Court Possession hearings and Rent Assessment Committees

Abstract

This article draws upon studies carried out for the Lord Chancellor's Department, of housing possession cases in the county courts and of cases coming before rent assessment committees. These studies were contributions to the Lord Chancellor's review of civil justice. One of the themes which the studies explored was the extent to which the parties to these processes were represented at, or attended these hearings. This article will deal with that theme. It is clearly a matter for concern if individuals fail to have the opportunity to put their cases effectively to hearings whose decisions will have implications for their welfare. We will report here on the evidence we collected on participation and we will explore the extent to which it may be possible to detect a relationship between the extent of, or nature of, participation and outcome.